Ring in the New Year (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Friends and family come together for New Year's Eve at Steve and Catherine's, and are in for a happy surprise when they see Catherine's hand. Part 11 of the second annual Holiday REAL World McRollathon.


**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – So many wonderful memories with you in the last year, and I'm so excited for the possibilities in 2016! Thank you for the love and support every day!

Esther – Thank you for the brightness you bring to my life by being my friend!

Readers and REAL McRollers – Your enthusiasm and support has made 2015 a VERY memorable year! Thank you for being on this exciting journey with us!

 **Happy New Year to one and all!**

* * *

 _Ring in the New Year (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

Steve stirred, blinking a few times as he came fully awake. His eyes automatically sought Catherine's face beside him as they did every morning, and he smiled softly to see her still asleep.

His gaze traveled down to where her hand was resting on the sheets between them, the diamond and sapphire ring on her finger looking somehow both new and familiar at the same time.

He reached across his body for her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over her ring. She inhaled as she woke, and her eyes met his, bright with happiness. She smiled when he leaned over to kiss her lightly before dropping his lips to her fingers.

Sliding her hand to his cheek, she pulled him back for another kiss.

He felt the smooth platinum against his skin, and the word engraved on the inside flashed in his mind.

 _Always_.

He sighed happily as the kiss ended, and he returned to his back, pulling her to lie against him. Her hand found its usual spot on his bare chest, and he covered it with his own, his thumb once again running over the ring.

She smiled against his shoulder. "Feels familiar already. How is that possible?"

"I was just thinking the same thing," he said and tightened his fingers around hers. "I guess . . . when's it's right, it's right."

"It's right," she said and stretched up to kiss him.

As she settled against him again, he exhaled slowly.

"What?" she asked.

He huffed a laugh at her innate ability to know when he had more to say.

"It's like . . ." he began, the arm around her shoulders pulling her closer. "It's like when I met you. New but also . . ." His brow furrowed. "I dunno . . . maybe familiar's not the word . . ."

She waited for him to collect his thoughts.

"Natural," he said finally. Licking his lips, he shook his head. "I didn't really know what to do with that. It wasn't like anything I'd ever felt before."

Rising up on one arm, she looked at him, her eyes focused on his face.

"And then later . . . when we got together," he continued. "Same thing again. New but familiar. Natural. And I couldn't really believe it. Or trust that it wouldn't . . . change everything." She moved her hand from his chest to his cheek, cradling his face gently as she tilted her head.

The corner of his mouth rose in a half smile. "Took me so long to finally realize that what that feeling was . . . was _right_." He paused, shaking his head slowly. "Something in my life was right, when for so long . . ." His voice trailed off, and she gave him a small smile.

"I know," she said quietly.

"I love you, Cath."

Her smile grew. "I know that, too." She stoked his cheek. "And I love you. So much."

She leaned in and kissed him again.

After a long moment, she settled back in his arms, sighing contentedly. "Last day of the year," she said.

"Mmm," he acknowledged, nodding.

"And what a year."

"Yeah," he said, interlacing their fingers and squeezing them.

Cammie approached his side of the bed, and they both looked at her fondly.

"Happy New Year's Eve, Cammie," Catherine said. "You've been so patient with us this morning, pretty girl."

Steve squeezed her fingers once more before releasing them. "I'll take her," he said as they sat up.

Catherine leaned over to scratch Cammie's ears before the dog backed up so Steve could slide out of bed. He pulled on shorts and a t-shirt while Cammie waited by the door, tail wagging back and forth.

Leaning down, he kissed Catherine lingeringly, and she put both hands to his face.

"Happy New Year's Eve, Commander," she said, smiling when he finally pulled away.

He grinned. "Right back at you, Lieutenant."

* * *

After taking Cammie out, Steve returned to find Catherine in the bathroom, fresh from the shower and running a comb through her wet hair. He smiled at the way the light danced off the stones in her ring.

"You wanna grab a quick shower?" she asked, glancing at him in the mirror.

"In a minute," he said and stepped back into the bedroom momentarily. He returned with her phone, opening the camera app and reaching for her hand.

"Wh–" she began, stopping when he snapped a picture of the ring on her finger and tapped the screen to send it in a text.

She took the phone, smiling when she saw the recipient's name.

Less than thirty seconds later, her phone buzzed with an incoming call, and Catherine put it on speaker.

"Hi, Mom," Catherine said.

" _Oh, honey, it's beautiful,_ " Elizabeth gushed. " _Absolutely perfect_."

Catherine smiled at Steve and answered, "Thanks. We think so, too."

" _Oh, just wait till I show your father and grandmother. They ran to the store for . . ._ "

"A few last minute things," Catherine said with a knowing smile. "Are we still on for Skyping at midnight your time? The Allens and everyone will be here."

" _Yes, yes, I can't wait!_ " Elizabeth said before sighing happily. " _Ohh, it just feels so official now. I mean, it was official before, of course, but now you have a real ring . . ."_ She stopped. _"You're keeping the purple one, though, right?_ "

"Of course," Catherine assured her.

"You know exactly where that went," Steve said.

" _I do,_ " Elizabeth said, and they could hear the smile in her voice. " _In the butterfly box._ "

Steve and Catherine smiled.

"We won't keep you, Mom," Catherine said.

"Just wanted to show you that," Steve continued.

" _I'm glad you did_ ," Elizabeth said. " _I'll be grinning all day_."

"Have you really stopped?" Catherine teased.

" _No,_ " her mother said with a laugh. " _Not really._ "

"I know the feeling," Catherine said, reaching over and squeezing Steve's hand.

He returned her smile, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it.

" _Okay, we'll talk to you tonight._ " Elizabeth said. _"Love you both._ "

"Bye, Mom. Love you, too."

After ending the call, Catherine grinned at Steve and said, "One more," navigating back to the ring picture to send it in another text.

Twenty seconds later, the response came:

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

Her phone immediately buzzed with another call, and Catherine had barely accepted it before Carrie's voice filled the air.

" _Oh my GOD!_ "

Catherine laughed. "Good morning to you, too."

" _That. Is._ _ **Gorgeous!**_ _"_

"Thank you," Catherine said, her smile a mile wide.

" _Is he there?_ "

"Yep," Steve said.

" _Hey, before the new year, McGarrett,_ " Carrie complained. " _You just cost me a ton in the when-will-he-get-a-real-ring pool._ "

Catherine laughed.

"Oh, come on," Steve groaned, though he couldn't keep from smiling as well. "There wasn't really a pool, was there?"

" _No_ ," Carrie admitted. " _But there probably should have been. That must have been a great jeweler to get it re-sized so fast. When did you find it? And more importantly, how could you not tell me?_ "

"We just found it last night," Catherine said. She smiled at Steve. "Together. It didn't need to be re-sized."

Carrie sighed dreamily. " _Meant to be_." She laughed. " _God, listen to me, Grace is rubbing off._ "

Catherine laughed. "She'll do that."

" _Wait till she sees it._ "

"I know," Catherine said, grinning. "Hey, we'll let you go, I just had to show you the picture before tonight."

" _Okay. 6:30, right?_ "

"Yeah, we'll see you later."

" _Okay. Can't wait to see that ring in person. Gorgeous_ ," she said again. " _Gorgeous!_ "

Catherine laughed. "Bye, Care."

" _Bye._ "

"Bye," Steve echoed, and Catherine ended the call.

She set her phone down on the counter and reached up to kiss him firmly.

"Mmm," she said, finally breaking the kiss, and smiled at him. " _Great_ idea, Commander." She nodded behind her. "Now, shower, so we can both be downstairs when Mary and Deb see."

He kissed her again and grinned. "Aye, aye."

* * *

Catherine and Steve were preparing a light breakfast when Mary, Joan, and Deb appeared in the kitchen.

"Good morning," Deb said.

"Morning," Steve returned as he closed the fridge door, milk in hand.

"Unca Teeve," Joan said with a grin, bouncing on Mary's hip. "Ann Caf!"

"Good morning, sweetie," Catherine said. "How about some fruit and English muffins for breakfast?"

"I wan' 'nanas!" Joan cried. At her mother's look, she added, "Peeeeas."

Catherine smiled. "Yeah, you like bananas, huh?"

Mary settled Joan in her booster seat, looking up as Catherine set a platter of fresh fruit, including bananas, on the table.

Doing a double take, Mary grabbed Catherine's hand. "Holy . . . _diamond!_ "

Deb came over at the exclamation. "Oh, wow."

Joan looked between them. "Nimon?"

"Diamond," Mary repeated. She angled Catherine's hand toward Joan. "See Aunt Cath's pretty ring?"

"Oooh, pwetty," the toddler said before being distracted by the sippy cup of milk Steve set in front of her.

"It's gorgeous," Mary said. She looked at her brother. "When did you pick this out?"

"Last night," Steve said, placing a hand on Catherine's lower back.

"I didn't know you were even looking for a ring when you ran out to the mall," Deb said.

"We weren't." He looked at Catherine and smiled. "It was more like it . . . found us."

She returned his smile. "It was a perfect fit. Meant to be."

He leaned over and kissed her temple.

"I'll say," Deb agreed. "It suits you perfectly."

"Thanks," Catherine said, leaning into Steve and smiling at them.

"I'm glad you waited to find the right ring," Mary said genuinely, looking between the two. "The right ring, the right time . . . it's just all so . . . _right_."

Steve glanced at Catherine, thinking of their earlier conversation, and her answering smile told him she was thinking the same.

He looked back at his sister. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

* * *

"Your riiiiiiiiing!" Grace squealed when she stepped into the house that afternoon to get ready for the New Year's Eve party. She set down her bags so she could run over to Catherine and immediately grabbed her hand.

"Eagle eyes, that one," Danny said with a chuckle, setting down his own bags. "Especially when it comes to anything romantic. Honestly, I think she's been checking your hand first thing every time she sees you to make sure the engagement's actually real. It's that or pinch herself."

Gabby and Nonna quickly joined Grace to see Catherine's ring.

"Ohh, it's beautiful," Gabby said. She smiled at her friend. "And so . . . you. Simple, but so elegant."

Danny peered over his girlfriend's shoulder for his own look, and his eyebrows shot up. He whistled and glanced at his partner standing a few feet behind Catherine.

"When you finally crack open your wallet, you don't hold back," he said.

Steve just smiled in response.

"You deserve it, Cath," Danny said genuinely.

"Now it's real," Grace said. "It's really _really_ real."

Nonna sighed happily, holding Catherine's hand in hers. "A three stone ring. Perfect." She held her other hand out to Steve, and he stepped closer so she could take his. "Past, present, and future," she said, putting their hands together in hers. "Friendship, love, and fidelity. This truly is your ring. Both of you."

"Ohhhhh!" Grace said, clasping her hands beneath her chin. "Isn't that so _romaaantic?_ " she continued, stretching the word out. "And blue. _Navy_ blue."

Catherine and Steve smiled at her.

Grace's eyes widened. "Maybe our maid of honor dresses should be blue . . . oh, but purple is . . ." Her brow furrowed, and she bit her lip. "I need to talk to Carrie. When is she getting here?"

Catherine laughed. "A little later. We've got a lot to do before then. Mary and Deb should be back from the park with Joan soon." She winked at Grace. "I know you did all the food prep yourself last year for your wonderful party at Nonna's, but maybe we could help this year?"

Grace beamed. "Let's get started. I got a couple more ideas after I texted you, but don't worry. Danno went to the store."

"Yeah, there's a couple more bags in the car," he said, nudging Steve.

"Okay," Steve said with a shrug. "So go get 'em."

Danny glared at him, and Steve laughed, pushing him toward the door and following.

"Come on, let's go," he said. "It's party time, Danno."

* * *

In the early evening, the Allen family arrived with Jess in tow. Steve let them all in as Joan cried, "Kids!" and scrambled up from the floor and waved with both hands.

"Hi, Joan!" Kaitlyn said, smiling broadly. "Hi, Aunt Mary, hi, Aunt Deb."

Both women beamed at the monikers, Mary from the floor with Joan, and Deb on the sofa.

Cammie weaved her way between the Allens, stopping to receive a pat or a scratch from each one.

"Happy New Year!" Danny called from the dining room where he was setting up folding chairs.

Catherine, Grace, Nonna, and Gabby came out of the kitchen to greet the new arrivals, and when Catherine gave Jenna a welcoming hug, Jacob noticed her finger.

"Hey, where's your minion ring?" he asked.

Jenna stepped back, confused, and reached for Catherine's hand. "Oh my God, you got a real ring." She gasped. "Ohh, it's beautiful."

Jess looked over with wide eyes. "Oh, it is."

"Thank you," Catherine said, smiling.

Kaitlyn was awestruck. "Ohh, it sparkles."

"That's really pretty," Casey said. "I like the blue."

"Me, too," Catherine told her.

Cody glanced at Steve who smiled back at him while Dylan scratched his head, not particularly impressed.

Jenna looked at Jacob, whose lips were twisting, and read his disappointment.

"Remember, we talked about this, honey," she said. "You knew Aunt Catherine wouldn't always wear the purple ring."

He nodded, but still looked a little bummed.

"You know what, Jacob?" Catherine said. "I still have the purple ring. It's on my dresser in the butterfly box Grandma Ang gave me when I was eleven. That's where I keep the things that are truly special to me."

Jacob's eyes widened at that.

Steve knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jacob, I want to thank you again for that ring," he said sincerely. "For convincing me to take the prize bag home from your party. And I want you to know that ring will always be very special to Aunt Catherine and to me."

Jacob straightened, a proud smile spreading across his face.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," Steve said.

The young boy beamed, looking happily between Steve and Catherine.

When Steve stood, Catherine smiled warmly at him, and he leaned over to kiss her lightly.

"Ugh," Dylan groaned. "The kissing thing."

Catherine laughed. "Sorry, Dylan."

"I'm not," Steve said with a grin that was met by laughter around the room.

He chuckled, one hand sliding around Catherine's back as he reached over with the other to ruffle Dylan's hair. "Someday you won't mind it. Trust me."

"Yeah," Cody said.

Steve raised his eyebrows at the teen, as did Jenna, and Cody flushed, his eyes widening. He looked at Jess beside him who had turned bright red.

"Come on," Catherine said, stepping over and looping her arm through Jess' with a smile. "You can help me and Nonna with the wraps."

Jess gave her a grateful look, and she went with Catherine, Nonna, Grace, and Gabby into the kitchen.

Cody cleared his throat. "Do you need any help?" he asked Steve hopefully.

Steve looked at him in amusement. He clapped him on the shoulder and nodded toward the dining room. "Why don't you help Danny set up those chairs?"

Cody stepped quickly in that direction, clearly glad for the change in subject.

Steve moved to follow but there was a knock as the door opened, and Carrie and John stepped inside.

"Let me see it," Carrie said loudly, pushing two bottles of sparkling grape juice at Steve. "Cath!"

Catherine came out of the kitchen, and Carrie was on her instantly, grabbing her hand and angling it back and forth.

"Bam. Look at that. Gorgeous. Like I said."

Catherine laughed at her best friend's reaction.

"Nice," John added, nodding approvingly at Steve. "Very nice."

Steve smiled.

John held up the two bottles of champagne in his hands. "Celebrating more than just New Year's, huh?"

"We're celebrating a lot of things," Steve agreed, his eyes moving around the room to the family gathered in their home.

He could hear the sounds of warm conversation and laughter coming from the kitchen where Nonna, Grace, Gabby, and Jess were preparing food.

Mary and Joan had been joined on the living room floor by Casey and Kaitlyn, and the younger girl had stayed there even when Cammie came over and sat beside them.

Cody and Dylan were in the dining room moving chairs around as Jacob peppered Danny with questions.

Jenna had taken a seat on the sofa with Deb, and his aunt looked brighter and happier than he had seen in a long time.

He looked over at Catherine who smiled at him as if reading his thoughts. "A helluva lot of things," he repeated quietly, a small smile on his own face.

* * *

When Kono, Adam, Chin, and Leilani arrived a short time later, it didn't take long for them to spot the ring on Catherine's finger.

"Oh, that is so you," Kono said, marveling at the play of the lights on the three stones. "I was trying to think of what kind of ring you'd eventually get, but whatever it was, I knew it would be exactly you. And this is it."

"It's really beautiful, Catherine," Leilani said.

"Thanks," she said and looked at Steve. "We weren't expecting to find it last night, but when it's right . . ."

"It's right," Chin said, nodding to the two of them, emotion catching in his throat as he knew better than anyone that they were talking about more than a ring.

Leilani smiled, squeezing his hand reassuringly, and he flashed her a grateful smile, squeezing back.

"You're setting the bar pretty high there," Adam observed.

Chin and Steve both raised their eyebrows, looking at him.

"Something you'd like to say?" Danny asked leadingly.

Kono grinned, raising her eyebrows as well. "Yeah? Something you'd like to say?"

Adam just smiled enigmatically.

"You guys are really dressed up," Dylan said.

"We've got another party we were invited to weeks ago," Chin said. "Remember?"

Dylan nodded. "Oh yeah."

"But we're gonna stay here for a couple hours because this is where the fun's at," Kono said.

"Is it time for another New Year's now, Cody?" Jacob asked, tugging on his brother's sleeve.

Cody looked at his wrist, and Steve smiled to see the silver watch he had given the teen for Christmas.

"It's almost seven, so yeah."

Jacob looked at his oldest sister. "Casey, where's it gonna be New Year's?"

"Um . . . well, I don't have the website here," she said.

"It's New Year's every hour," Jacob told the gathered group. "Somewhere else. Casey looked on the computer. Even at lunch time it was! And _breakfast time!_ "

Danny grinned at his excitement. "That's pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah!"

"He's been yellin' 'Happy New Year!' every hour since about nine," Cody told them.

"You know what?" Steve said. "It's almost midnight in New York, so how 'bout we tell Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Joseph, and Grandma Ang Happy New Year?"

"Yeah!" Jacob cried, jumping in the air.

Steve looked at Catherine. "What do you think? Set up in the dining room?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

He used one of their laptops so they had a slightly bigger screen, though it would be impossible to get a good view of everyone at one time.

Just after seven o'clock, Steve placed the Skype call to the Rollinses while everyone gathered behind him.

"I can't see, I can't see!" Jacob said, vibrating with excitement.

"Well, they're not there yet, honey," Jenna said, shaking her head fondly. "Hang on."

The call connected, and Elizabeth, Joseph, and Ang appeared on the screen.

" _Happy New Year!_ " they chorused, and Ang adjusted her _Happy 2016!_ hat.

"Hey!" Jacob cried. "We got some of those!"

" _Do you?_ " Elizabeth asked. " _I bet you're having a great party!_ "

"Yeah! We get to stay up till midnight!"

She smiled. " _I wish we were there with you, look at everyone!_ "

Steve moved the laptop slowly so the webcam could get the whole room.

"Ann Lizibef!" Joan exclaimed, waving from Mary's arms and squirming to get down so she could run to the screen.

"Oh, no, you don't, peanut," Mary said, keeping her close. "You can say hi from here. Say hi to Grandma Ang and Uncle Joseph."

"Hiiiiiii!" Joan waved, still squirming. "Hi, Gamma Ang Unca Jo-sef!"

" _Hi, sweetheart!_ " Elizabeth said, her greeting echoed by Joseph and Ang.

"I think this is gonna be a tough chat with all of us here," Catherine called out. "But we wanted to wish you a Happy New Year."

" _Nonna, I know you're keeping them all well fed,_ " Ang said.

"Of course," Nonna said with a huge smile for her friend.

" _And Deb is there somewhere,_ " Elizabeth said. " _Right?_ "

"I'm here!" Deb called from the back.

Cody and Jess slid over so she could come forward more.

" _Hi_ ," Elizabeth said. " _It's so wonderful to finally meet you . . . kind of_ ," she added with a laugh.

"You, too," Deb grinned. "But we'll be meeting in person soon . . ." She looked at Steve and Catherine meaningfully. "Right?"

"Don't give 'em any ideas," Danny said. He pointed at the screen. "Or you'll be catching a red-eye out to make a spontaneous ceremony."

"And we need time to plan," Grace said, looking at her co-maid of honor.

Carrie nodded. "That's right."

"No spontaneous ceremony," Steve said. He winked at Catherine. "We promise to give you at least a week's notice."

"At least," she agreed, grinning.

" _Catherine, we saw the picture of the ring_ ," Ang said. " _It's beautiful, honey_."

"Thank you, Gram."

Joseph nodded. " _That's what I call a ring. Nicely done, Steve._ "

"We found it together," Steve said. "Or it found us."

" _Even better_."

The picture froze momentarily on the screen, and it when it started to move again the audio was a little out of sync.

"Mom," Catherine called. "I think we're gonna need to cut this short. The connection's not great."

" _What?_ " Elizabeth's voice was garbled. " _Honey, we're . . . 'ing trouble heari' . . .you_."

"Yeah, us, too," Catherine said. "So how about we say good night?"

The audio and video came back together as Elizabeth said, " _. . . too bad. But it was wonderful to see you all for a minute._ "

"You, too," Jenna called.

" _We'll talk to you soon_ ," Elizabeth said. " _Love you all! And Happy New Year!_ "

Ang and Joseph echoed her, and the gathered group chorused, "Happy New Year!" back to them, waving a goodbye before Steve shut down the connection.

Jacob grinned, looking around the room as he eagerly asked, "When's the next New Year's?"

* * *

"So I have this idea," Mary said a little nervously. "I've got some paper and pencils here, and I thought we could all write down something we're looking forward to or something we want to do in the new year. And then I'll take them all and make them into a book. _Our Family in 2016_."

"Oh, I love that," Jenna said.

"That's a _wonderful_ idea, tessorina," Nonna said. She smiled knowingly. "But maybe make it two things, since I bet everyone is looking forward to a certain event . . ."

Nearly every eye in the room turned to Steve and Catherine.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Super Bowl 50?"

Carrie snorted.

"I think she means your wedding, Uncle Steve," Kaitlyn said seriously.

"Ohhh," he said with an exaggerated nod. He wrapped an arm around Catherine and smiled. "That's right."

"It's a great idea, Mary," Catherine said. "Let's do it now before we eat."

"Cody, will you help me?" Jacob asked.

"Sure, buddy," his brother said. "Come here."

Mary passed out pencils and paper, and for the next ten minutes, everyone worked on their contributions.

Once she'd collected them back, they started bringing food out to enjoy.

While they ate, Casey asked if she could pull up the website she'd found that counted down to the new year in all the different time zones so that Jacob could yell "Happy New Year" to a specific city as he had been doing all day.

"Happy New Year, Mexico City!" he cried at eight o'clock.

Around eight thirty, Mary finally coaxed Joan upstairs to get her into bed with the promise of a quick video call to Aaron.

At nine o'clock, with a reminder not to yell and wake up Joan, Jacob said a slightly more subdued, "Happy New Year, Denver!"

With hugs and New Year wishes, Kono, Adam, Chin, and Leilani headed to their party shortly after, and the evening continued with games and good conversation.

At ten o'clock, Jacob wished Aaron and Los Angeles Happy New Year, and at eleven, Anchorage, Alaska received the same.

Tired, but determined to stay up till midnight, he helped Kaitlyn pass out hats, streamers, and pompoms. They'd opted to forego the noisemakers so they wouldn't wake up Joan, but Jenna promised they could use them at home the next day.

The kids' excitement was contagious as the clocked ticked ever closer to midnight until finally it was time for the countdown.

Jacob clenched his fists tight around two sets of streamers, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Remember, don't yell, Jake," Cody reminded him.

Jacob nodded vigorously, holding on to his hat, as they began.

"10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1! Happy New Year!" they called out joyously.

Excited hugs and kisses were exchanged all around the room.

"IT'S 2016!" Jacob cried, jumping up and down and losing his hat in the process. "IT'S 2016!" He clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide, then started to jump again, this time whispering, "It's 2016! It's 2016!"

As everyone continued to celebrate, Steve took Catherine's hand, tugging while silently mouthing, "Come on," and nodding toward the back door.

They slipped out onto the deck to the sounds of fireworks going off in the distance, and he led her down the steps and through the grass, finally stopping on a familiar patch of sand.

Turning toward her, he took her other hand as well. "Just for a minute," he said. "Then we'll go back in."

She nodded, glancing back toward the house. "I love spending New Year's Eve with our family, but I love this, too. Just you and me."

"Yeah." He stroked his thumb over her ring. "New year, new chapter."

She smiled. "What a year," she said, repeating her words from that morning.

"2015 was great . . ." he said. "2016's gonna be even better."

She raised her hands to his face as he leaned down and kissed her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close and deepened the kiss.

After a moment, she pulled back. "Hold that thought, Commander," she said, smiling at him. "We'll have a more private celebration in a little bit."

He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

She grinned. "Best way I've ever found to ring in the new year."

Mirroring her grin, he leaned down and kissed her again.

"Happy New Year, Cath," he murmured against her lips.

"Happy New Year, Steve."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Today's REAL World Ask the Authors Q &A question:**

 **Katydid13 asks,** **What are the three most recent books Steve has read? Catherine?**

What a fun question! Puts my librarian-brain to good use! ~Ilna

 **Steve**

 _Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania_ , by Erik Larson (Crown, 2015)

 _Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers_ , by Simon Winchester (HarperCollins, 2015)

 _The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228_ , by Dick Couch (Crown, 2001

 **Catherine**

 _Make Your Home Among Strangers_ , by Jennine Capó Crucet (St. Martin's, 2015)

 _Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories_ , by China Miéville (Macmillan, 2015)

 _The Watchmaker of Filigree Street_ , by Natasha Pulley (Bloomsbury, 2015)

 _ **You can submit questions to the REAL World writing team via reviews, email (realmcroll at yahoo dot com), on our Tumblr (mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com), and to Mari on Twitter (at Mari21763).**_


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